Week 9: Mahabharata Dice Games and Exile (Reading Diary B)

I thought this section was interesting as it focused so much on the dice games played between Yudhishthira and Duryodhana.

It was crazy how much Yudhishthira was willing to bid on the game. To lose everything you own, everything your brothers own, your (and your brothers) wife, as well as your own freedom was kind of ridiculous. I thought how Duhshasana and Duryodhana treated Draupadi was horrible and terrifying but I liked that because of her prayers, she immediately was wearing a new Sari after hers was ripped away.

Draupadi Disrobed. Wikimedia.

Another interesting part was when Vikarna examined whether Draupadi was actually won in the game since Yudhishthira lost himself first. I have never seen or read anything like this section about kings gambling and how they won and what they won. But this section was extremely important in this part of the story as it helped decide whether Draupadi was a slave. 

I thought it was crazy how even after everything was given back to the brothers, Yudhishthira goes back a second time, leading to the brother's extended exile. It seems like most of the epic stories from India start with an exile.